1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a corner post and H-brace system for building fences. More specifically, the present invention is a system employing fence posts and connecting rods that extend between adjacent fence posts. The connecting rods attach to the posts via ears and rings provided on the posts. The connecting rods and the ears and rings which are standard structural components of the system allow a fence of any horizontal curvature to be custom built, even when the ground on which the fence is to be built that is not level.
2. Description of the Related Art
Building fences for containing livestock is a task that the stockman must routinely perform. Unfortunately, these fences must be built on relatively inaccessible and hilly terrain. Also, the fences often must be built to curve around obstacles, such as ponds or streams. Finally, the corners of the fences are often not perpendicular. Traditionally, when fences are built under these conditions, the workman must custom make the corner posts and bracing for the corner posts and must custom make H-braces for the fence. This customization requires a great deal of time and requires the workman to carry extra tools and materials to the construction site, increasing the time, trouble and cost of the construction.
The present invention relates to a corner post and H-brace system for building fences that addresses these problems. More specifically, the present invention is a system employing fence posts and connecting rods that extend between adjacent fence posts. The connecting rods attach to the posts via ears and rings provided on the posts. The connecting rods and the ears and rings, which are standard structural components of the system, allow a fence of any horizontal curvature to be custom built, even when the ground on which the fence is to be built that is not level. Construction of fences, corner posts, and H-braces employing the present invention requires only those tools that are necessary to set the posts and additionally only a couple of tools for securing the connecting rods to the fence posts via bolts or via other suitable fasteners.
The present invention is a corner post and H-brace system for building fences. The present invention is a system employing fence posts and connecting rods that extend between adjacent fence posts. The connecting rods attach to the posts via ears and rings provided on the posts. Each fence post is provided with at least two sets of ears provided on one side of the post. Each set of ears is provided with aligned bolt openings there through for receiving a bolt or other similar type of fastener. Each end of the connecting rods is similarly provided with a bolt opening.
The connecting rods secure to the pairs of ears on adjacent fence posts by inserting the end on the connecting rod between a pair of ears so that all of the bolt openings in the connecting rod and the pair of ears align, and then securing a bolt or other fastening device through the aligned bolt openings. The pairs of ears are aligned with a longitudinal axis of their associated fence posts so that the connecting rod can pivot upward and downward, i.e. pivot so that the oppose end of the connecting rod can move vertically, at the pair of ears relative to the fence post.
Each fence post may alternately be provided with additional opposite sets of ears on a second opposite side of the post or with rings that secure around the original sets of ears provided on the first side of the post. Each ring is rotatable horizontally on its associated post so that the connecting rods that attach to a pair of ring ears provided on each ring can be rotated horizontally relative to its associated fence post.
Thus, the three types of fence posts employed in the present system are fence posts having pairs of ears on only a first side of the posts, fence posts having pairs of ears on two opposite sides of the posts, and fence posts with a combination of a ring associated with each of pair of ears where the pairs of ears are located on only the first side of the posts. These three types of fence posts, along with connecting rods and fasteners comprise the standard components of the present system. Any one of the three types of fence posts or any combination of the three types can be used together with the connecting rods and fasteners to construct a fence, a corner post, an H-brace, or any other type of fence configuration desired.
The connecting rods and the ears and rings, which are standard structural components of the system, allow a fence of any horizontal curvature to be custom built, even when the ground on which the fence is to be built that is not level. Construction of fences, corner posts, and H-braces employing the present invention requires only those tools that are necessary to set the posts and additionally only a couple of tools for securing the connecting rods to the fence posts via bolts or via other suitable fasteners.